1. Field
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method to detect vehicle theft.
2. Relevant Background
At parking areas for the general public such as malls, parks, theaters, etc., and parking areas for particular individuals such as, corporate and government buildings, there are dangers associated with vehicle theft. Further, there are security problems associated with individuals parking (e.g., a vehicle user not being authorized to park or not properly paying for parking).
Although various attempts have been made in the past to verify a vehicle user's authentication to park in a parking lot or to determine if a vehicle is being stolen, previous attempts do not adequately combine both properly authenticating a vehicle user when the vehicle is parked and when the vehicle is un-parked and properly notifying appropriate personnel if a vehicle is un-parked when the vehicle user has not been adequately authenticated.
There is therefore a need for techniques to both properly authenticate a vehicle user while parking and un-parking a vehicle and properly notifying appropriate personnel if the vehicle is un-parked without proper authentication of the vehicle user.